Chapter Three: George's Promise
Hope you enjoy it!

~SkulduggeryCain~

After an hour of fishing George returned home, leaving Lobo and Wolfgang still casting their lines by the sea. As soon as she had drawn near to her little cottage home she had dug out her house key, still experiencing the little bursts of excitement at the thought of living on her own. Until she had moved to Karakura, she had lived in the city with her parents and younger brother; a hyperactive nine-year old boy who obsessed over football. It was all he ever thought about.

As George entered her house and switched on the light, a pale yellow glow illuminated the room as she stepped into it. There wasn't much to look at in here, just an old stereo, a cardboard box, a lamp, a candle on top of an end table and a fish tank. The fish tank contained a goldfish; it had been her first catch in the village. Lobo had laughed when he watched her reel it in, but he hadn't said much about it. He had just requested that she should place it in her house when she got back as a memoir for their first fishing trip together. She had honoured his request, and now it sat in its bowl in the corner of the room. The goldfish had now retreated under the small rock in the centre of the bowl, the light of the lamp blinding the small fish as he swam around in the water. The bowl was set down beside the lamp, possible not the best place for it to go however George hadn't really thought about it. The fish had arrived before the lamp had, and she had had no initiative to move it from where she had originally placed it.

The lamp had been a gift from Tom Nook, a racoon who ran the local convenience store entitled 'Nook's Cranny.' He was slightly odd, but not a bad person in any way. He was helpful, polite and had lots of experience in his line of work. He often wandered around when his shop was visited and talked to the shoppers enthusiastically, adding an 'hmm' or a 'yes, yes' onto the end of his speech. George had learned that catchphrases were very popular in Karakura – most of the animals had one. Wolfgang's catchphrase had originally been 'snarrrl' but now George had changed it. She didn't know how. After talking to him for a while, he had said that he found his old one boring and uncool, and so had asked her to think up a new one for him to use as an alternative. She had thought about it for a while but had produced nothing, so in the end she just told him not to have one. This went down relatively well however he did still revert back sometimes. She guessed that it must just be a natural thing to say your catchphrase; almost like a default setting in mobile phones when you first buy them. She hadn't made one up for herself yet, and she didn't feel that she would, either. After the mini lecture she had received off of Tortimer, Karakura's mayor, about the fact that human inhabitants didn't usually have a catchphrase put her off by a mile.

After she had been at home for around half an hour she left her house again, locking the door swiftly behind her. For the first time she began to explore on her own, going past all of the buildings she so clearly recognised now; Tom Nook's Shop, Mable & Sable's Tailors, the Town Hall, Lobo's House, Wolfgang's House, the Town Gate… they were all so familiar and dear to her. And then she came across a new building, one that she hadn't seen before. It was tall and grand; the bricks were painted white, the doors wide open and inviting. It vaguely reminded her of a church but she instantly knew that it wasn't anything like one. It was too old, too worn, too… experienced.

George didn't know what to make of the strange building and so pulled out the Karakura Pocket Map she always kept on her person. After a quick glance at her location she knew what this building was. Quiet, eroded and experienced with age, the building she was stood before was none other than Blathers and Celeste's museum.

Karakura's lost attraction.

As soon as George had found out what the building was she had meandered off in search of Lobo. He wasn't too hard to find – he was still fishing on the beach with Wolfgang. As she approached the two turned, nodded their hellos and shouting their welcomes. She quickly rushed up to them and spoke her own greeting, returning their attention to fishing when there was a loud splash and a harsh tug on Lobo's line. With all three of them pulling on the rod they managed to pull the fish in – and what a fish it was! For it wasn't even a fish – but a shark instead! It floundered helplessly on the beach for a few minutes before Wolfgang's heart gave in and he picked it up and threw it back into the ocean. The shark had been so desperate for water that it hadn't even attempted to snap at the wolf as he manoeuvred his catch back into its natural habitat of the ocean.

As the shark's fin descended beneath the waves, George halted the two brothers before they could cast their lines out to sea again. She dug out her pocket map and opened it, smoothing out the creases and looking from Lobo to Wolfgang as she did so. They were clearly confused.

"What're you getting that out for?" Wolfgang enquired, his ears twitching. "You do know that me and Lobo have lived here for years; we know our way around!"

"And we showed you around, too," Lobo added questioningly. "What are you still carrying that thing around for?"

"I noticed a building you haven't shown me, one you didn't even tell me about," George replied flatly. "Here. The Town Museum."

She pointed fiercely with her finger, prodding the space on the map where the little picture of a coliseum stood with a key label as the museum. Instantly she saw the expressions of her friends change. They were almost close to laughing.

"Oh, that place?" Lobo grinned. "It's a load of rubbish. Nobody goes there anymore – all that's in there are some rotten old bones, some fish and some bugs. Nothing interesting, to say the very least."

"The only time when someone actually goes in there is Saturday night," Wolfgang added to what Lobo had said, a creepy-looking sneer frozen on his face. "Although, it's not the museum they go in for. It's K.K. Slider's gigs at Brewster's Roost Café. That place is downstairs though, nowhere near the bones and specimen things."

"What's wrong with the Museum? Who is K.K Slider? Who is Brewster?"

George's list of questions at this point was endless. There were so many things which she wanted to know however she managed to restrict herself to the most relevant and important.

"There's nothing wrong with the museum, as such... It's just that it bores people," Wolfgang carefully answered George's first question. "There's nothing interesting in there. Nobody visits because everyone knows about everything that's displayed anyway. The fish in the tanks we can catch ourselves, the bugs are the same. We can dig up fossils and assemble them ourselves at home, so what's the point in going there to just see all of the same stuff?"

"In answer to your other questions," Lobo interrupted his sibling and spoke quickly before George had a chance to say something in protest. It was clear that she wasn't agreeing with their views. "K.K. Slider is this awesome musician who plays gigs at the Roost on Saturday nights. He sings and plays guitar, a great combination in my opinion. All of the music which he plays has been written and conducted by him and he prides himself in being original and authentic. At the end of a performance he'll usually hand out a disk with the song he just performed on it, and all for free. He's a top-class dog."

"As for Brewster, he's the pigeon who serves you at the bar. He's very quiet until you get to know him, but when you do he's really chatty. While you sip his great blends you get to have a chat with him, too. If only all bartenders were like that..."

Lobo sighed and began winding his reel around his fishing rod, signalling that his fishing was over for the day. Wolfgang imitated his brother's movements, also winding his wire around the thin wooden pole. While George took in everything that had been said they took the opportunity to go and shake coconuts from the trees at the edge of the beach. Taking one each and one for George they sat on the sand, gazing out across the water with elements of amusement still flickering across their faces.

George hadn't moved an inch while they messed about behind her, throwing pieces of coconut at each other and laughing. Eventually it all sank in and she turned on her heel, striding over to the two wolves and dropping down in front of them. They eyed her warily, wondering what the new look of determination in her eyes meant.

"Well," George began slowly, "If every person in this town refuses to value the museum, I'm going to be the sore thumb of all of you. I love history, I love fishing and bug-hunting, I love coffee... I guess the museum is going to be my place to go. It sounds a lot better than you two have described it to me. Although, by the sound of it, it's a shame there's no art exhibit..."

"Actually, there is an art section," Lobo clamped his paw over his mouth as soon as he had said it, instantly regretting having spoken.

"I wouldn't call it an exhibit, though," Wolfgang snarled, shooting an annoyed glance across at his brother. "There are only a few genuine paintings in there, nothing much at all to look at. The rest of the paintings which the villagers tried to donate were all determined as forgeries by Blathers."

"Um, who is Blathers?" George asked fervently. She looked very sheepish as she could have sworn that she had heard that name before somewhere.

"Blathers is the curator of the museum. He's an owl and is constantly sleeping on his feet. It's not his fault, he's nocturnal after all, but his head always seems to jerk around while he sleeps. I don't know what ruffles his feathers, but I suspect it's the fact that he's always standing in the lobby in the light instead of a peaceful darker place. Sometimes I wonder why he doesn't just close the museum down," Wolfgang sighed. "It's a hopeless case, really. Nobody has visited that place for a few months now."

"Well then, it's about time someone did," George grinned for the first time in a few minutes. "You're welcome to join me, but I don't think you're that bothered. I'm off now, so I'll see you later."

"You're not seriously going to go into that dump?" Lobo sounded incredulous. "It's full of boring rubbish! I really don't see the point-"

"You might not, but I do!" George's fierce tone of voice caused the two wolves to shy away from her a little. They had never heard her sound so determined before. "See you two later."

She began to stride away from the two as they sat there on the sand, gazing after her as she strode quickly up the beach and through the coconut trees which bordered the white plain. As she was about to step onto the lush green grass which lay past the sand a paw grabbed her hand and pulled her back. She hadn't expected this and instantly fell back, her legs going out from underneath her as she was put off balance. Just as she was about to hit the floor a pair of strong forelegs caught her, hoisting her back up and onto her feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pull you over like that," the voice of Lobo floated over to her as she stood with her eyes shut in front of him, his supporting arms still resting on her back. "Are you okay?"

George's eyes flicked open and a bemused expression landed on her face. Within a few moments she had whirled around to face her friend, glaring but failing to add the angered edge. Her eyes were soft and full of laughter, not hard and full of annoyance.

"You could have knocked me out or something!" she tried to sound serious but the intention just wasn't there. She was nearly laughing. "What were you trying to do, grabbing my hand like that?"

"Well, first I thought about pulling your hair, but then I thought that might actually hurt so I didn't bother," Lobo grinned evilly. "I didn't know you had so much momentum going when I reached for you hand, so I didn't know you'd nearly collapse on the ground in front of me!"

"Well that was certainly a sight," Wolfgang said, walking out from behind a tree. "And Lobo, never pull a girl's hair. Their slaps hurt, I can assure you." Wolfgang grimaced as if he was remembering a past experience. His face was full of recalled pain and his expression was hard to read.

"Hey!" Lobo exclaimed, finally stepping away from George and glaring at his older sibling. "I thought you said you weren't coming?"

"Yeah, well, I lied," Wolfgang said matter-of-factly. "You got a problem with me tagging along?"

"No, not at all."

"Good. Shall we go then?"

"Sure."

"Wait, go where?" It was George's voice this time, her head tilted to one side in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"We're coming with you to the museum," Lobo explained. "We're not letting you go there on your own! If you have to keel over from the sheer boringness we'll be there to laugh and point and shout about how right we were."

"You two are so full of yourselves!"

"Naturally."

George couldn't help but grin at Lobo's casual remark. No matter what he said, even if it was something deadly serious, it was the tone of his voice which caused her to snigger and laugh. He always said things in either a funny or a silly way, making her laugh to no end if the tone was heavily laden with sarcasm and exaggerated beyond the point of all seriousness. Within the week of knowing her Lobo had picked up on all her traits, all of her characteristics, everything which made her happy or sad. He knew exactly what to do to make her laugh and he always did it whether she liked it or not.

"So you two are coming with me to the museum?" George sighed, shaking her head sadly. "My peaceful trip is ruined..."

"Ha ha ha, you bet," Lobo grinned cheekily at her. "Let's go! To the boring museum!"

"Oh shut up," George sighed again, beginning to walk away and leading the three towards their goal.

I will make people visit the museum again, no matter what it takes! George vowed silently as their journey to the white-washed brick building began.